Eleven people arrested under scope of bugging scandal

Eleven people, including senior officials from the police department, were detained yesterday in an investigation carried out by the public prosecutor of Ankara regarding the wiretapping of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's conversations, allegedly by agents of the Gülen Movement. Simultaneous operations took place yesterday morning in Ankara, Istanbul, Diyarbakır, Yozgat and Karabük, resulting in 11 people being detained while Serhat Demir, a senior chief of police, was not detained as he is currently abroad but the police searched his house. Among those arrested are Police Chief Mehmet Yüksel who currently works at the Police Inspection Board Administration, Police Chief Zeki Bulut, who was formerly the head of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's security detail, as well as Ali Özdoğan and Serhat Demir, who used to work for the Intelligence Department of Police Forces, although the latter was not detained as he is out of the country.

Sedat Zavar who currently works for the Erzurum Provincial Security Directorate, Ahmet Türer who was deposed from his position as the chief of police and who worked for the Prime Ministry's head Department of Protection, police commissioner Enes Çigci who worked for the Intelligence Unit along with İbrahim Sarı, the chief police officer working at the Ankara Provincial Security Directorate along with police officers Hurşit Gölbaşı, Harun Yavuz, Seyit Saydam and İlker Usta were also detained.

The investigation was initiated after the discovery of a bugging device at the prime minister's office and official car under the scope of the spying case which was started by Ankara's Counterterrorism Unit in cooperation with the prosecution office. The houses of detainees were searched by security forces who obtained the necessary evidence.

In response to the investigation Fikri Işık, the Minister of Technology yesterday expressed that the matter was part of the legal process and stated the operations were carried out as part of the investigation carried out by the Public Prosecutor of Ankara.

The Gülen Movement led by Fethullah Gülen, who currently resides in the U.S. in a self-imposed exile, is allegedly behind the wiretapping, release of fabricated tape recordings and wiretapping of thousands of individuals including politicians, journalists, academics, NGO leaders and prominent figures through fabricated cases and court orders given by Gülenist agents within state institutions.

A series of fake tape recordings of Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and his son Bilal Erdoğan and numerous ministers and politicians have previously been published online prior to the March 30 local elections by agents affiliated with the Gülen Movement following the Dec. 17 operation.

The tape recordings had numerous inconsistencies including time, content and location, and the Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey (TÜBİTAK) has recently issued a report pertaining to the alleged tape recordings of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, stating that they have been fabricated, while TRT HD TV channel coordinator Kürşat Özkök previously described the recordings as a cheap fabrication.

The movement denies any involvement while Fethullah Gülen could be facing extradition charges in the case he is convicted.